Breaking All the Rules ...

[model 10]

This has been a very interesting story. The reports of what was done and how long it took to do, were pretty revealing. You just can't do quality repairs in the time homeless spent on them. I have some experience in the bidding and billing for repairs, there is no way that much of the work done to this boat can be very good. It just takes more time than that to do good work.
There can be no doubt that homeless worked his ass off on this thing but there is an arrogance you see sometimes from people who think they can do something they have no experience with. In this case that arrogance may not pay off, if not for homeless then the next guy.

[homeless]

Arrogance ? I love how an anonymous person on the internet who has never met me or seen the before/after can judge. I am not trying to get the boat back to new condition, just get it working and safe.

I paid for a marine gearbox specialist to build my gearbox, and they put the shaft together wrong, and I had to waste 2 days to work out the problem and re-do the work.

I paid for a diesel injector specialist to rebuild the injector pump, and they put it together wrong and I wasted half a day trying to diagnose the problem and call them to get them on the boat to fix it.

I paid for the standing rigging to be done. Was told it would take 2 weeks but it took 2 months because once they had my mast I was captive so they worked on other boats and left my rig to get dusty. I ended up doing the wiring and running rigging myself otherwise I never would have got out of that yard.

The standard of the work I have done is higher than the so-called experts who charge large amounts, but are too lazy to get the job done right. The guys actually doing the work "just work here" and could not care less if the work is defective. If I do it myself it gets done right first time, and takes less time because I work 12 hour days 7 days a week compared to an average yard worker who works a few hours and bills a full day and is still on the same job a week later.

[homeless]

Now dodging zig-zagging trawlers and cruise ships off Port Douglas in the dark. I should have sailed this stretch in daylight

Cruise ship discos really should not be allowed to use red lights. Every time the lights of the outdoor disco on the top deck turn red I think he has turned across my bow and I panic.

[El Pinguino]

Is that you on Leonora? Shouldn't you be up on deck keeping a lookout if there are so many zig zagging ships out there?

I must say I find this all very very odd....

[Sun and Moon]

Originally Posted by homeless

The standard of the work I have done is higher than the so-called experts who charge large amounts, but are too lazy to get the job done right. The guys actually doing the work "just work here" and could not care less if the work is defective. If I do it myself it gets done right first time, and takes less time because I work 12 hour days 7 days a week compared to an average yard worker who works a few hours and bills a full day and is still on the same job a week later.

+1! This is my experience too, both on boats and on houses. Occasionally I find a great worker who knows his stuff, knows what he doesn't know, takes pride in his work, and bills for the time he spends. But unfortunately this is the exception rather than the rule.

"If you want something done right, do it yourself"
- Charles-Guillaume Étienne Brueys et Palaprat (1807)

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by homeless

Arrogance ? I love how an anonymous person on the internet who has never met me or seen the before/after can judge. I am not trying to get the boat back to new condition, just get it working and safe.

I paid for a marine gearbox specialist to build my gearbox, and they put the shaft together wrong, and I had to waste 2 days to work out the problem and re-do the work.

I paid for a diesel injector specialist to rebuild the injector pump, and they put it together wrong and I wasted half a day trying to diagnose the problem and call them to get them on the boat to fix it.

I paid for the standing rigging to be done. Was told it would take 2 weeks but it took 2 months because once they had my mast I was captive so they worked on other boats and left my rig to get dusty. I ended up doing the wiring and running rigging myself otherwise I never would have got out of that yard.

The standard of the work I have done is higher than the so-called experts who charge large amounts, but are too lazy to get the job done right. The guys actually doing the work "just work here" and could not care less if the work is defective. If I do it myself it gets done right first time, and takes less time because I work 12 hour days 7 days a week compared to an average yard worker who works a few hours and bills a full day and is still on the same job a week later.

Damn, you are getting worked up. Welcome to the real world. I doubt the yard workers are the problem. Sorry, but I believe you where told it was an ill fated idea from the git go. I'm not meaning to be cruel since you have worked your ass off but take what you can get and count it up to experience. Go back to the day job, as you said, sitting in the chair and making money.
No grease under your fingernails that way.

Thanks for opening up a great education on aluminum boats.

JMHO

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by homeless

...The standard of the work I have done is higher than the so-called experts...

I suppose anything is possible. But how is an amateur able to judge his own work against that of a (supposed) expert? And how were you able to tell if all these subcontractors were experts?

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by homeless

Now dodging zig-zagging trawlers and cruise ships off Port Douglas in the dark. I should have sailed this stretch in daylight

Cruise ship discos really should not be allowed to use red lights. Every time the lights of the outdoor disco on the top deck turn red I think he has turned across my bow and I panic.

Call them up and tell them their entertainment lighting is masking or obscuring their navigation lights. They should then turn off the deck lights.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Call them up and tell them their entertainment lighting is masking or obscuring their navigation lights. They should then turn off the deck lights.

It is beginning to sound like poor me. I'm beginning to doubt the whole thing except there is a listing for the boat. Life is a bitch we all screw up.

[Dulcesuenos]

Homeless take what some of these people say w a grain of salt. Cf is full of both good positive folks and the opposite. I was once chastised openly for wanting to sell a boat to get a bigger boat as there's too many boats out there blah blah bah. I agree w you many yards charge 100 hour/and have $10 hour guy. Work on your boat that got their job because they know what a boat looks like. I will say I have made more than one offer on a boat only to be turned down , moved on , found out boat sold for 20k less 6 months later for all kinds of reasons. If you break even on $$ forget your time, You still had some great if not learning experiences.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Aussie Monty]

Originally Posted by georgelieber

This sounds like a great project. Forget the savings, or the cost, or the work... the most important thing is that you are bringing the old girl back to life. Saving her, and letting her sail again, is the noble thing to do! Bravo to you!

Ditto. Go for it. Be careful...keep safe...keep others safe. Whilst its easy to rip apart methods put forward we all must remember that we participate in forums for a reason. To hear different views...and then to weigh them up and decide for ourselves.

Enjoy the process...it sure beats sitting on the lounge, remote in hand, getting sour!

[homeless]

Now anchored off Horn Island, so I have reached the top and time to turn Left. Some fantastic tradewind sailing the last few days past many coral reefs and islands, especially today up from Escape River through Albany Passage. So many beautiful islands and reefs, but nobody is enjoying them. Between Cairns and Thursday Island I saw a few yachts anchored at the Low Islands, and then at Hope Islands, but nowhere else and never shared an anchorage. Quite a few bulk carriers, barges, and trawlers in the shipping lanes, so need to keep a good watch.

The white smoke and diesel leaking into the oil sump were not fixed with the injector pump rebuild in Cairns, and the injectors were pressure tested back in Airlie Beach, so I am suspecting the problem really is compression in spite of two different diesel mechanics saying it could not be because the engine starts easily. I played with the injector high pressure lines and loosening the line on cylinder one seems to result in less impact to idle speed than the other 3 cylinders, so that may be the source of the problem, with low pressure on one cylinder, not firing every cycle, or incomplete combustion. I took the rocker, tappits, and push rods off and put them back and readjusted clearances, but no luck. Looks like I will need to get a compression test when I reach Darwin and possibly pull the head to check the valve seats and then pull the pistons to check rings which won't be fun. In the meantime I am only using the engine to get on and off anchor, and charge batteries.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by homeless

... In the meantime I am only using the engine to get on and off anchor, and charge batteries.

I have absolutely no problem with this.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by homeless

Now anchored off Horn Island, so I have reached the top and time to turn Left. Some fantastic tradewind sailing the last few days past many coral reefs and islands, especially today up from Escape River through Albany Passage. So many beautiful islands and reefs, but nobody is enjoying them. Between Cairns and Thursday Island I saw a few yachts anchored at the Low Islands......

Nice country north of Cooktown and over the top. Spent a couple years around the top of the cape and never got bored.

Enjoy the run to Darwin but do make sure you have a couple of sherbets on TI before leaving

[Balance]

Homeless,
Your a bloody resourceful bloke, well done on what you have done.